17/02/2026
HOMILY FOR ASH WEDNESDAY 2026
Joel 2:12-18; 2 Cor. 5:20-6:2
Mt 6:1-6,16-18
On Ash Wednesday like this, Catholics and even non-Catholics receive ashes on their foreheads, a reminder of their humanity and sinfulness. Today is the only day, which someone said, you attend your burial while still alive. This is because this is the only day we hear the words: "Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return" the exact words the preacher would use at your funeral.
It is a day that sets us thinking about the fleeting nature of the things we hold dear: Power, social status and knowledge (certificates). The reality of nakedness, fragility and futility stares us in the face as the ash we are signed with on our foreheads reminds us that we are wayfarers whose lives often pass away swiftly like grass and we return to clay. "Our span is 70 years or 80 for those who are strong" (Psalm 90:10) says the scripture. It is a day which reminds us that some day, our expensive cars, wardrobe, gold, silver, diamonds, mansions, designers etc, would in the long run, be useless to us and or relished by others who did not labour for them.
Ash Wednesday, which we celebrate today, connects us with the ancients like the people of Nineveh who obliged the Prophet Jonah, wore sackcloths and mourned in ashes (Jonah 3:6). A sign of total submission, self-abnegation and surrender to the will of God. No wonder the ashes are typically made from the palm branches of the preceding year’s Palm Sunday, signifying the connection between Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his ultimate sacrifice on the cross. In our reception of ashes, we will be reminded that "we are dust and unto dust we shall return." This rite symbolically proves our turning of our hearts to the Lord and our nothingness before Him, thereby reconciling with Him.
Our attitude throughout this period of Lent, therefore, should be one of reconciliation. It is what St. Paul appealed to the Corinthians in the second reading: "We are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:20). However, reconciliation is both vertical and horizontal. Through sincere repentance, we are going to be vertically reconciled with God. Horizontally, we are going to be reconciled with one another through self-forgiveness and forgiveness of one another. The Church has therefore set aside this period of forty days for us to reconcile not only with God but with one another. It would be unreasonable to ask for God’s mercy while we do not show mercy to one another.
During the period of 40 days that follow this day of Ash Wednesday, known as Lent, a 40-day spiritual journey of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, 40 days of immersing ourselves in God’s grace, the Catholic Church calls us to conversion, to turn away from sins and face towards God. The doctrine of the human person as dust underlines the need for this conversion, enabling us to recognize our mortality and sinfulness. And as the prophet Joel puts it, «Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning…» (Joel 2:12). During the period we are urged to avoid vain loss, gluttony and drunkenness as well as petty jealousy, backbiting and wickedness which should give way to the life of the spirit.
The period of Lent lasts for forty days and not any other number of days because the number forty designates an important time period. The number forty generally symbolises a period of testing, trial, or probation. Explaining why the number forty is significant, Pope Benedict XVI said, "Lent recalls the forty years of wandering of the sons of Israel in the wilderness before God allowed them to enter the Promised Land; Moses’ forty days and nights on Mount Sinai on two separate occasions receiving God’s laws (Cf. Ex. 24:18, 34:1-28); the forty days of powerful warning of the prophet Jonah to the people of Nineveh (Cf. Jon.); the forty days and nights without food and water on Mount Horeb by the Prophet Elijah (Cf. 1Kgs. 19:1ff); and Our Lord’s forty days and nights of fasting in the Judean desert, which He undertook before entering into His public ministry (Cf. Mat. 4:2). Like the Israelites, we will journey not for forty years but for forty days in the desert of our hearts, making a conscious examination of our sins. It is our time of leaving Egypt (Sin) and fleeing from the wickedness of Pharaoh (the devil) and never coming back to Egypt again.
The First Reading boldly invites us to make a U-turn to the Lord. “Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning” (Joel 2:12-18). In the gospel passage, Jesus gives us the necessary aids for this journey of Lent. Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. We shall be reflecting on these different aspects within this period too. But in all, let our attitude be the right one towards these disciplines of lent- Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. Pope Francis calls on us not to ignore anybody begging on the street, and says the way one reaches out to the person looking for help must be done "by looking them in the eyes and touching their hands". Finally, let us look for an area of our life, where the purification can begin, and work towards eliminating it. It could be a sinful behavior, an attitude or way of life, etc. for the ashes we receive today are signs that we are ready for this change and not for decoration.
As we embark on this voyage of 40-days, the journey of Lent, we are called to renew our baptismal promises, seek forgiveness for our sins, and deepen our connection with God. During the period we will have the opportunity to follow the Stations of the Cross, where we are charged to be the modern Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, women of Jerusalem and Joseph of Arimathea at our different duty posts in life, may we march through the holy season in prayer, fasting and almsgiving even as we reap its fruits through Christ Our Lord. Through prayer, fasting, and charity, may we cook ourselves fit for the joy of Easter, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and savior.
It is a pity that we live in a world where no one wants to hear about self-denial. Everyone seeks the easy path of pleasure and comfort, but Jesus says: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14).
It is a pity too that Lent is often caricatured as a long-faced, no-fun season. But Lent is really about saying no to some things so we can say yes to others. At the outset of his ministry Jesus was tempted by Satan to say yes to the chance to use his gifts for immediate gratification of his physical needs; to say yes to the enjoyment of material wealth and the thrill of power over others. But Jesus said no to these temptations, and headed into the towns and villages to say yes to long days and nights of healing, teaching, feeding, and exorcising.
During Lent we Christians are called to say no to anything that comes between God and ourselves. It might be the tendency to consistently see the worst in people and situations. It might be indifference to the condition of the homeless and the lonely in our community. It might be the habit of judging and categorizing others to maintain our sense of superiority. It might be the tendency to see our spiritual lives as limited to one hour of worship on Sundays. It might be the habit of expecting unbroken peace and inward joy without putting in the time to cultivate our prayer relationship with God. It might be the habit of facing life’s challenges without factoring the presence of God into the equation. We may be being called this Lent to say no to being critical of our own selves and to say yes to loving our selves a little bit more: “Love your neighbouras yourself!” Jesus tells us.
When we answer Christ’s call to say no to destructive practices, energy is left to say yes to positive disciplines. We can fill the space and time left by our fasting with some positive disciplines to help us respond to God’s love more intentionally. John Wesley called them the means of grace: prayer, searching the scriptures, fasting, acts of kindness aimed at justice, and regular attendance at corporate worship where we participate in the sacraments of our Baptismal Grace, especially Holy Communion and meet God as the scriptures are read and proclaimed.
Just as there are lots of things we may need to say no to during Lent, so there are many opportunities to say yes. I will see the good in all who I meet; with those whom I live and work. I will improve my understanding of issues of justice for the poor. I will participate in a ministry of care in my community. I will pray more faithfully and actively.
In adopting these positive disciplines, even though they may be taxing for us, we find new life. As the prophet Isaiah says “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly” (Is 58:8).
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore commit ourselves this Lent, to be a better person and to be better Christians, ever more committed and dedicated disciples, followers, and children of Our most loving God and Father. Let us all draw ever closer to His throne of mercy, seeking Him and beseeching Him to welcome us back into His presence, as we come to Him not just with ashes on our heads, but even more importantly with the ashes that cover the whole of our hearts, our minds and our entire inner beings, as we show great regret and shame over our many, innumerable sins. Let us all ask the Lord to forgive us and to help us, so that we all may come ever closer to Him and find our true life and salvation through Him.
May God be with us all, and may He bless our Lenten journey and experience starting today, so that we may strive to be ever better Christians, not just in name, but also in words and deeds, in all things. Let us be more loving and charitable this Lent, and also resist the temptations to sin, in various forms and ways, by our faithful practice of fasting and abstinence, done right with the right focus and intent, not for ourselves but for the greater glory of God. May God bless us all, all of our actions, words and deeds, our many upcoming Lenten observances and works, that we may be worthy of Him in the end, when He comes again to gather all of His faithful. Amen.
